Thursday, September 10, 2009

Our LL-B/X (OD&D & AD&D) House Rules

Much like the D&D game, our house rules are a pastiche. We base our game on Labyrinth Lord (LL) and are excited to see what the Advanced Edition Companion (AEC) has to say in a few months.

Our primary gaming experiences are from Moldvay Basic (B/X) and Advanced Dungeons and Dragons (AD&D). Add on top of that a healthy interest in Sowrds and Wizardry (S&W) and you arrive somewhere close to our house rules. Our minis-lite approach stems from 3rd Edition and there's even one item from 4th Edition (Gads, I guess we just blew up the edition wars, ha!) Fun is always the final arbiter in our game.

We enjoy playing with minis and tiles. In our view, there's nothing wrong with a wee taste of tactical play. To that end we decided that the emphasis on rules-lite that suits our busy lifestyles does not exlcude a rule-lite approach to minis. We aren't power gamers and don't sit up at night finding new ways to bust the rules. So the below works for us:

•Spontaneous Casting: Clerics can spontaneously cast any spell for a healing spell of the same level.•Double (Spell) Dipping: Clerics may not memorize the same spell twice in one day without the use of magical items.•Turning: For every turn attempt per day after the first the player adds +1 to the difficulty number on the Turning Undead Table.•Bonus Spells: Clerics with Wisdom 15+ receive 1 bonus 1st level spell/day.•Scrolls: Clerics may write their own spell scrolls at a cost of 250gp per level of the spell. The writing time is one week per spell level. Up to three spells can be written on a scroll.

Magic-Users:

•Spontaneous Casting: Magic-Users may spontaneously cast any spell for Detect Magic or Read Magic.•Weapons: Magic-Users may use dagger, dart, quarterstaff, or sling. Human Magic-Users may use the longsword. Elven Magic-Users may use the longbow.•Double (Spell) Dipping: Magic-Users may not memorize the same spell twice in one day without the use of magical items.•Initial Spell Books: Magic-Users/Elves begin play with Detect Magic, Read Magic, two 1st level spells, and one 2nd level spell, of the player’s choosing.•Scrolls: Magic-Users may write their own spell scrolls at a cost of 250gp per level of the spell. The writing time is one week per spell level. Scroll can hold a maximum of three spells.•Bonus Spells: Magic-Users with Intelligence 15+ get 1 bonus 1st level spell/day

Thieves:

•Thieves use d6 for HP

Fighters:

•Only the human fighter may use the two-handed sword•Excluding obvious two-handed weapons (halberd and two-handed sword), a fighter may wield any weapon on the weapon list two-handed and increase the damage die of that weapon by 1 (example: Battle Axe d8, wielded with two hands d10)

Dwarves:

•Hit Points: Dwarves use d10 for HP•Racial Enemy: Dwarves are +1 versus Orcs and Goblins•Two Handed Weapons: Dwarves may use the spear and the halberd, but not the two-handed sword.•Armour Class: Armor class (+2) improves when attacked by creatures larger than man-sized (7 feet and over)

•Racial Weapon: Elves receive a bonus of +1 with the longbow•Two Handed Weapons: Elves may use the halberd, but not the two-handed sword.•Armour and Spell Casting: May only cast spells while wearing magical armour.•Initial Spell Books: See Magic-User.•Scrolls: See Magic-User.•Bonus Spells: Elves with Intelligence 15+ get 1 bonus 1st level spell/day

•To Hit Bonuses: Flank +2, Prone +4, Attack from Behind either +2 or +4 to hit circumstance bonus (DM call).•Coup de Gras: Helpless opponent (Auto-Hit Save vs. Death + DMG or die)•Moving: Any direction 5ft•No Threatened Squares, No Attacks of Opportunity, No 5ft Step•When adjacent to an opponent, movement is reduced by half•Spears/Halberds: Have 5ft reach (1 Square); can also attack from the 2nd rank•Missile Attack into Melee: Attack at -2, a natural low roll may hit party member (DM call).•Missile Attacks: Must be more than 5ft (1 square) from target.•The universal point blank range: 15ft (or 3 squares away). Any missile attack within PBR (or from either 10 or 15ft away) is +1 to hit. Any weapon listed at long range is -1 to hit (see page 54).

•Bind Wounds: Heal 1-3 hit points after each combat if 5 minutes spentCan bind unconscious character’s wounds to revive (with 1 hp)•Funeral Pyres: If the body of a fallen fellow adventurer is recovered it may be burned on a funeral pyre. PCs may donate up to 100gp/level of their fallen comrade in gold, jewels, etc and earn an equivalent level of experience point bonus.

About Me

Greg is a boastful, hammer-wielding, red-bearded dwarf who started playing D&D in the early 1980s when hooked by the Red Box. When he's not obsessed with D&D he poses as a sleep-deprived professor of popular culture.